The two foxes of Konoha
by xxSnowxxAngelxx
Summary: Everyone knows the story of the Kyuubi's attack on the Hidden leaf, right? Well events weren't completely the same as what was recorded. The truth is hidden by those that are now gone, and two children hold the key to finding out the truth of that night. Or one child in particular does, the other is just there to keep him in line. Warnings: Slightly AU, M-Preg, Yaoi pairings
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Okay, this story kind of came to mind while I was reading a bunch of Minato fiction stories. I fully intend to continue writing the other two stories I have up, but it may take some time as my inspiration for them is sadly lacking. This is a sequel (sorta) of another fic I'm working on, but this one is one I think I'll post first.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto, nor will I ever own it. It belongs to its creator.

Warnings: Mature themes, Yaoi, M-Preg later on. Oh and spoilers if you haven't been keeping up with the anime…. In which case why would you be looking for stories about the series?

The day was bright and cheerful and as busy as every other day so far in the village of Konohagakure. The Yondaime Hokage-sama was to become a father soon, his 'wife' Kushina set to give birth any day now. At least, that was what everyone in the village believed. Truth of the matter was that, while yes Kushina was due any day now, it was not with Minato's child as the two were siblings in all but blood. In fact, they were literally siblings as Minato was married (secretly of course) to Kushina's elder brother. The reason for the secrecy? Konoha was rather… intolerant of homosexuality, and would be less than welcoming if it was discovered that their great Kage, Minato Namikaze, himself was gay and married to a male.

Kushina had always said he looked like a wimpy pretty boy. It just so happened that he was in fact interested in men and was actually the uke of the relationship. Now, though the majority of the village were opposed to homosexuality, among ninja it wasn't so taboo or wrong. Ninja took love where they could get it, as they knew that the likelihood of living long lives was slim, what with the chances of another war, dangerous missions, and the existence of the Bijuu (which were all more often than not sealed either into people or into objects until a host was chosen/found). Minato was working on changing the laws about homosexuality, trying to make it so that people wouldn't need to hide their feelings for their own safety. But thanks to the Elders of the council, it was a slow process.

One other reason Minato kept secret about his preferences was that there was one thing about members of his clan that would definitely have gotten him the worst kind of attention, was that certain members of his clan (yes, there IS a Namikaze clan, though most tend to not become shinobi or settle down in non-shinobi villages) could in fact become pregnant regardless of gender. It was a sort of bloodline along with the clan's strong wind chakra affinity/bloodline. For males, there were a few defining characteristics, such as their hair color. Oddly enough, when males were born to the Namikaze clan, if they were blond, it meant that they were 'carriers' of the ability to become pregnant. Their hair would have otherwise been blue-black, gray, or rich dark brown. Another was that they tended to have rather feminine features and build, which they often used to their advantage if they trained in the ninja arts.

The reason he hid this? He would be ostracized and alienated, and it would also be dangerous should enemies find out. Pregnancy would weaken him, enemies may take that as a chance to kill him. So Minato grew up honing his speed and other skill and not minding that people called him wimpy or girly, merely smiling goofily and playing up the role of someone that wasn't a threat. He was, however, a genius. He had quickly risen up the ranks from a combination of his skill and the fact that war was beginning to break out.

Now the war had ended, with him playing a big role and becoming famous, or infamous depending on your outlook, and he was Hokage. He had succeeded in his goal of being acknowledged by the village he loved, had married the redheaded man of his dreams, and had a child on the way. Life was perfect. Except for one thing; His best friend's pregnancy. Now, he was happy for Kushina-chan, really he was, but the thing that was worrisome was that she was the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki. Pregnancy itself was not an issue, the birthing would be though. The seal used weakened during childbirth and Minato was the only seal master currently within the village. Jiraiya-sensei was out on a recon mission and Arashi was also on a mission and would be away for at least another day.

He would need to be there to fix the seal after Kushina-chan gave birth. Even Kushina's husband was busy. The man would be there when Kushina went into labour, anxious to see his baby and be there with his wife, but it was likely that he might be unable to get there on time. Much as Minato wished he could ensure the man would be there with Kushina through the whole thing. He'd had to assign him that job. Minato's other concern was his own due date. It was highly likely that he could go into labour any second now himself. If both of them were giving birth, then the seal was in even more danger of being broken by that Kyuubi.

Well, it was time. Kushina had been escorted by Biwako-sama, the Sandaime's wife and a medic specializing in delivering babies, to the secret location. Minato would be going there shortly. No one was aware of Minato's pregnancy save for Biwako-sama, as he would need at least one person to help him when it came time for him to have his child. Not long after he thought that, he felt the first stirrings of the labour beginning. 'Damn. I had hoped I'd have more time. Guess you want to come out into the world, eh Naruto?' He thought, a hand wandering to his genjutsu/seal-disguised stomach. He'd learned of this jutsu to hide his pregnancy from a family scroll and used it as not even Byakugan or Sharingan would be able to detect it.

The one good thing about him being Hokage was he needn't go on dangerous missions. Minato hid a wince and began the trip to where Kushina was going to be giving birth. 'Our children will be like twins, almost.' He chuckled to himself at the thought. In little but a few seconds Minato was there at the cave, the barrier long set up and the anbu guards in place and on high alert. When he was inside and close to where Kushina was already in labour, he released the genjutsu seal and his fully pregnant stomach was revealed. He winced and rubbed his stomach as another pain made itself known. It looked like the two babes would indeed be born so close they could be twins.

Eventually, tired and weakened, both Minato and Kushina gave birth. Thankfully, both babies were born healthy and strong. Kushina's child was a baby girl. Kushina got to hold the little one for a little, before she was taken by one of the assistants to be bathed and dressed. After getting to hold his own newborn boy, Minato handed him back to Biwako to wash and dress him while he moved to Kushina's seal. He would need to act fast. Despite being drained from having given birth not ten minutes ago, Minato's hands hovered over Kushina's stomach to reinforce the seal and force the Kyubi back. Then Naruto's cries and Biwako collapsing drew their attention. Minato looked over to see a masked man, holding his son while blood dripped from the kunai used to end Biwako's life. The girl with tufts of soft-looking red hair was wailing just as loudly as Naruto was, though the masked man hadn't grabbed her.

"Namikaze Minato, step away from the Jinchuuriki." The man's voice intoned, clearly threatening the innocent newborn in his arms. The newborn that like him possessed a tuft of blond locks which would become a full head of blond spikes. Minato's blue eyes narrowed after widening for a second. The man… He had to be after the Kyubi! But…. Minato looked from Naruto, his wailing (from the rough treatment) infant son, to Kushina's strained face to the seal and back again. He couldn't abandon his son. Nor could he allow the seal to erode even more. His mind whirred a mile a minute, like his namesake 'the yellow flash' that he was known for. He knew that he would need to choose one or the other. The man grew impatient though, and threw the infant into the air, kunai raised to impale the infant when he fell back down.

Minato acted then, moving like a flash to catch his son and land on the wall above the masked male. "As expected of the Yellow Flash, but what now?" he spoke casually as Minato noticed the exploding tags attached to his sons baby blanket. In a flash he teleported with the Hiraishin no Jutsu to a house farther away, where he removed Naruto from the blanket and flashed into the field outside of the house, cradling Naruto to make sure he was unharmed just as the house exploded. He had been successfully separated from his friend and sister-in-law. Now she was at the masked mans mercy. Minato sucked in a breath as pain shot up his leg when he tried to stand. A chunk of wood had pierced his ankle. He removed it and looked up, fierce determination swimming in his baby blue depths. He flicked the shard of wood up and the two were gone in a flash, the wood piece landing where they had been seconds before.

Minato and Naruto landed in another house, this one Minato's own house, where his many special kunai hung on the walls and where his Hokage cloak rested within the closest. Minato placed Naruto down on the bed, covering the wimpering infant with the clean bedsheet.

"Papa's going to go rescue aunty and your cousin now Naruto. Wait here for me my little one." Minato kissed his baby's forehead and Hiraishin'd away. It would take him some time to get to Kushina. He was glad that he had thought to add a hiraishin seal on her seal, but it would still take too long to get to her. 'Hang in there, Kushina-chan. I'm coming right now.' He thought.

[little Kyubi-chibi line break] With Kushina and masked ass- I mean masked man…

Kushina was strung up by black, inky-looking chains. Well, they looked like chains, it was the chains of the Kyubi's seal, black and corrupted. Her abdomen was exposed, the seal now no more than a black hole in her stomach. If not taken care of immediately, the seal would fail and Kyubi would be released. Kushina was sweating profusely, exhausted from childbirth and the strain of the weakened seal. The masked man was on the water before her, eye carefully observing the seal.

"What…. Is your… goal? Separating… Minato… from me…" Kushina's words were halting as she was breathing heavily. The man sneered, though you couldn't tell thanks to the mask he wore and explained how he would take the Kyubi and use it to destroy Konoha. Her eyes widened at that. He had to be crazy! Destroy Konoha? All that would do was nothing but to cause more pain and suffering. She knew what it was like to lose your village, your home. She wouldn't let it happen to Konoha!

The man then did something, pulling Kyubi out of her, and after it was out, she collapsed onto the rock she had been suspended above. Kyubi's eyes looked odd. Not the normal slit pupil, but tomoe'd and round-pupil… The Sharingan! She would recognize the eyes of the Sharingan any day, her husband possessing them after all. It was something only members of the Uchiha possessed. And…. If he was controlling the Kyubi, then there was only one person the man could be. She didn't get to think any more as Kyubi's attention turned to her.

"As you were the Jinchuuriki of the Kyubi, it is only fitting that he be the one to kill you." The man said as Kyubi's paw/hand came crashing down and shattered the boulder she was on. Minato landed on a tree a few feet away, holding Kushina in his arms. He grinned down at her, though his eyes were hard. It was like that time years ago, when he was still a new genin under Jiraiya-sensei. Only rather than Kumo ninja, this was a dangerous man that had managed to get into the barrier and kill Biwako-sama instantly. On top of that he could control the Kyubi. Minato narrowed his eyes. Kushina spoke, telling him that he had to stop the masked man, that his goal was destruction of Konoha. He silently flashed them back to the house were he left Naruto, who had seemingly fallen asleep. He chuckled slightly at that, cheered by Naruto's safety. Minato set Kushina down beside his child, asking her to look after Naruto, knowing that she loved the infant already. He quickly went to retrieve the baby girl as well, surprised to see small swirls of red chakra emitting from the infant which were so like that of the Kyubi. 'It seems that Kushina-chan's daughter absorbed Kyuubi's chakra while growing inside of her mother's womb.' That would make things interesting….

When he returned to the house to place the baby girl with her mother and cousin, Kushina questioned him about why he didn't go after the masked man immediately. To which he replied that her brother would kill him if he left Kushina to die like that. He then put on his trademark coat and said that he would be back soon. Inwardly he wished that Arashi and Izuna-kun were back. The two men would be needed to protect the village. Minato shook the thought aside and used Hiraishin to disappear from the room. Kushina placed her hand gently and protectively over her nephew and daughter. 'My precious child…. Things might not turn out too well, and Momma might not be here much longer. Naru-chan and you will be great friends, I'm sure of it.' Kushina thought with a small, somewhat sad, smile. She whispered a 'thank you' to Minato before he left.

"Oh yes, we need to name you, don't we? Well, If my guess is right and things don't end well, 'Biwako' might not be a great name to give you.. How about… Akemi?" The infant in question giggled happily and Kushina smiled. "Akemi it is then. Akemi Uzumaki–Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze" But Kushina had the feeling that the identities of both children's' fathers would be hidden, if the worst were to happen and one or both children were to become orphans.

[Kyuubi on a rampage this is a page breaker]

In the village of Konoha, the people went about their evening like any other day; Friends chatting at food stalls and sake bars, couples arguing fondly, children hurrying home for supper. It was a peaceful, happy little village. The old, retired Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, looked up from the paper he was looking at as he sensed an ominous presence. 'I hope everything has gone alright.' He thought to himself, worried for his wife Biwako and hoping that he was wrong about something having happened. They had taken so many precautionary measures, so surely things were fine.

The peace and quiet didn't last long as a masked figured appeared in one of the back roads of the village using his special teleportation jutsu. The man went through hand signs and slammed his hand into the ground, intoning "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." A puff of smoke appeared and the first building was smashed into bits as the great demon fox, Kyuubi no Kitsune, appeared from the summoning smoke. It was soon on a rampage through the village, Hiruzen dressed in battle armor and ordering the shinobi to defend the village until Minato could get there. It was a battle where many lives were lost.

When Minato arrived on the highest point on his head which had been carved into the Hokage Mountain, the village was already greatly damaged. Minato cried silently as he took in the damage, mentally calculating the number of lives already lost. Kyuubi took notice of him and turned to the hokage mountain, already preparing a Bijuu ball.

"You've noticed me already huh?" Minato spoke aloud as the Kyuubi unleashed his attack at Minato. Said man only raised a hand with his special kunai and used the seal to transfer the blast outside of the village. The seal could be seen by the ninja and they felt encouraged by their leader's arrival. The light from the blast could still be seen. 'So powerful. I'll need to be careful where I send it then.' Minato thought even as a figure appeared behind him. He sensed the attack and spun around, kunai stabbing his assailant. Or at least it would have, but it phased right through the man. The masked individual then grabbed hold of him and spoke.

"I win." As the air around him distorted and warped. 'He's using a spatial jutsu as well?' But then Minato was gone in another Hiraishin flash. "You certainly live up to your name. But next time I will get you." With that, the man vanished through use of his own teleportation jutsu. He reappeared near Minato before the young Yondaime could fight against the Kyuubi again. Minato eventually came up with a plan to deal with the man's strange abilities and threw a kunai at the man, followed by charging up a rasengan and running towards the man. The man had put shackles on his wrists with a chain connecting them. It was clearly to trap him after all, as the kunai flew through the masked man's head harmlessly. Seconds before the masked man could declare victory, Minato flashed to the kunai that was just behind the man and spun to shove the rasengan into the man, slamming him into the ground. It would be enough to kill most men.

Then man somehow survived and even stood back up. Minato had placed a hiraishin seal on the man when he connected with the rasengan, and was able to flash to the man. He then put a contract disruption seal on the man, to remove his control of the Kyuubi. The masked man took this as his sign to leave for the moment. He left with a promise, that one day the Kyuubi would be his. That first hurdle over, Minato now had a freed, and still rampaging, Kyuubi to stop. His chakra was running low already though. Minato let out a sigh, wishing again for Arashi to be there. He used Hiraishin to return to the fight against the Kyuubi, Hiruzen having been able, just barely, to hold him back long enough for Minato.

He used Kuchiyose to summon the boss toad summon, which landed a bit in front of the Kyuubi.

"Yondaime, you haven't called me in a while… GAAAAHH Kyuubi! The seal failed then? Kushina-chan?" he asked.

"She's alive. Safe with Naruto…. And her daughter" He left the rest unspoken, Gamabunta understood the implications and felt relief. 'Bunta was one of the few that was aware of Kushina and him not actually being together as anything other than good friends and that Minato had been pregnant at the same time as Kushina's pregnancy. The way Minato had paused had made him think that the redhead's child was stillborn or had been killed, it was a relief that the child had survived. He would have chuckled imagining the trouble two children with the parents they had could get into growing up, were it not for the serious situation they found themselves in. The situation was dire indeed.

"So. How are we going to do this? The only way is to seal it away with either a new host or into a sealing item capable of holding Kyuubi's power." Gamabunta asked the human on his head. Minato grimaced slightly, already a solution popping up in his head. He would need to seal the Kyuubi into an infant for the best chance of success. The only infant he could possibly use was his own baby boy, since Kushina's child likely had chakra too close to the Kyubi's for the sealing to be successful.

"I'm going to use Shiki Fuin. Can you hold the Kyuubi down for a moment?" Minato asked of his long-time friend.

"It'll be hard, even for me. But I'll give you as much time as I can." The large amphibian agreed. He rushed at the demon fox and soon enough had him pinned beneath him. Minato meanwhile gathered as much of his chakra as he could for the transfer of a large object. Soon Gamabunta landed on earth where the Kyuubi had once been. He sadly returned to the home of the Toads, Mount Myoboku. He had the feeling that he would never see that brave human again. Back with Minato, he and the Kyuubi appeared a great distance from Konoha, Minato also carrying Kushina who held Naruto to her chest securely.

"I have to set up a barrier quickly…" Minato spoke, though he wouldn't have enough chakra for that as well as using the jutsu he would need to use in order to accomplish this task. Kushina touched his arm, bleary eyes determined to help her dear friend, Kage, and brother-in-law.

"Let me. You need all your chakra… For what you have in mind…. Though… It is not something I would agree to, if there were any other way… Naruto's life will be hard." Kushina spoke softly, knowing that Minato would not change his mind about this. She knew it pained him to do this to his own child, but knew that there was no other choice if they wanted to keep the Kyuubi from coming back later without a Jinchuuriki to restrain it. She used her chakra chains to create an impenetrable barrier, neither of the two of them able to notice the man that entered before the barrier went up.

"But he won't be alone. He'll have Arashi and you and Izuna-kun. He'll make friends and find someone special when he's older… I know he will." Minato spoke with conviction, believing in his son to be able to overcome any obstacle in his life. "I've confirmed a few things in this fight. First, the masked man will bring about the great calamity that Jiraiya-sensei spoke of. Second, Naruto will be the one to stop him. This child who's godfather is Jiraiya-sensei, and is the nephew of the previous Jinchuuriki, will open the future as a Jinchuuriki.

"I don't know why, but I'm convinced of this." Minato's eye shone clear with the belief he held about Naruto being the 'Child of Prophecy' Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin had spoken of a while ago. Naruto, and Kushina's little girl, had been born with whisker-like marks on his cheeks, as if he was born to be the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki.

A/N:

And that is the first chapter of this story done! Let me know what you think…. For any of you that have read 'Made of Glass' or are reading it… I apologize for disappearing like that… And I know I should work on the two stories I have before making new ones… but this idea just wouldn't leave.


	2. Chapter 2: Childhood

-time skip, 5yrs after the Kyuubi attack-

Five years had passed since the night the Kyuubi was unleashed upon Konoha and many brave shinobi had lost their lives trying to hold the monster back. Among the lost were the Yondaime himself and Arashi Uzumaki who was renowned for his sealing ability and was close to the Yondaime. The events surrounding the Kyuubi's ultimate defeat were shrouded in mystery, what was known was placed under S-rank secret and kept from the general populace aside from a basic announcement. However, it was not done in time to keep certain information from leaking. Everyone knew that Kyuubi was sealed into a newborn, as he could not be truly defeated as he was a creature made purely of chakra.

There were two infants that were born that day, believed twins by the populace, Naruto Uzumaki[-Namikaze] and Akemi [Uchiha-]Uzumaki. Both had the same, or nearly completely the same, whisker-like birth marks on their cheeks, though there were some slight differences that were easily explained away. The two were taken in by the 'Uchiha Outcast' Izuna Uchiha and adopted. He and the Sandaime Hokage, who had taken on the Hokage mantle after Minato's death, were the only ones to really protect the two.

This day was like any other, beautiful and cheerful, as busy as ever with crowded streets full of citizens while shinobi jumped from rooftop to rooftop. The village had only recently really recovered from the effects of the Kyuubi's attack. Two children could be seen running through and around the crowds on the street. Both were about five and wore somewhat worn clothing. They both had big grins on their faces as they ran, ignoring the whispering both could easily make out. The two pretended not to notice or hear the glares and mean things said about them, focusing on each other only as they played. In the lead was a red-head female child with black eyes by the name of Akemi Uzumaki. Chasing after her was a blonde boy with tanned skin and similar whisker marked cheeks as the red-head had. He went by the name of Naruto Uzumaki, and was the younger of the two.

"Come on Naruto!" Akemi called without looking back.

"Wait Nee-chan!" Naruto panted out as he weaved through the throngs of adults, ignoring the increased volume of the insults. The girl turned around to look, without slowing down even a bit, a grin on her face that matched the blond boy's.

"Hurry up slowpoke! Dad said he'd start teaching us jutsu and stuff for when we enter the academy!" Akemi called back. "Come on Naruto!" She was turning back around when she ran into something solid. The impact knocked her onto her bottom, and she cried out in pain from the impact with the ground.

"Why you, you little brat; Watch where you're walking!" Could be heard behind her. She looked up to see a civilian male standing over her. He was clearly the solid object that she had walked/run into. He was giving her a hateful glare full of disdain and anger. More than what running into him rightly should have earned her. It paled in comparison to the Uchiha, or even Hyuuga, glares, but it was still plenty scary for a child like her and so she began apologizing frantically.

Naruto caught up to her at that time and began defending her with an angry glare that wasn't the least bit scared. His bright blue eyes, which could certainly put the sky itself to shame, were darkened and stormy in anger. He was using a glare that was nearly Uchiha-worthy. Whispers of 'the demon twins' swept through the crowd, reaching even those that were unable to see the event through the crowd of people. Akemi's black eyes, which were a black hole as opposed to Naruto's vivid blues, shut as the child began crying loudly because of the insults growing in volume.

The man she had run into was about to backhand or hit Naruto in some way, when his arm was grabbed and twisted behind his back. He also found a kunai against his neck at the same instant.

"I wouldn't lay a hand on these two children, with Sandaime himself protecting them…" The voice caused total silence among the watchers, all being smart enough than to challenge the owner of said voice. Even for someone disowned by his clan, he was someone normal civilians had no chance against. The crying also stopped, as both children recognized the voice and would recognize it anywhere. "Not to mention, I'm their guardian… And I am very protective of them both."

"Papa!" Akemi was up on her feet in seconds and ran towards the male. She jumped into his arms, he having released the civilian as soon as he'd gotten his message across to the masses. He chuckled and spun her around, loving the giggle that was the result of this action. It was only around the two children that he would ever let himself show emotion, never mind that the villagers got to witness it as well since they were present.

"My cute little girl, you should really watch where you're going better… Observing your surroundings no matter what you are doing is essential for a ninja." He scolded, though from his expression and tone she could tell he wasn't too upset with her. He turned his gaze at Naruto, who was grinning goofily again and scratching under his nose in a gesture that so painfully reminded Izuna of both Minato and Kushina it nearly hurt. "Now, I think we should head home for some food! Then we can start your training!" This had both children cheering, the crowds dispersing with a well-aimed, Uchiha-patented glare.

He held out his hand for Naruto and the boy took it with a grin. They headed home with little more fanfare than the usual angry glares and muttering. Izuna shook his head in dismay at the actions of his fellow Konoha citizens. They treated the child hero's as though they were demons themselves, never giving either child the chance at making friends besides each other or walking through the village without being subjected to the villagers' resentment. Minato would be ashamed of these people if he could see how they treated Naruto, and they both (he and Minato) would need to restrain their respective red-heads should they see how the village acted towards their babies.

In a way, it was kind of a good thing that those two weren't there to cause havoc to the village… But it was hard to have to hide the truth of being Akemi's actual father and Naruto's uncle through Kushina and Arashi…. But he made sure the two knew that their mothers loved them and that their dad[s] did too. He would tell them the truth, as he was given permission from the Hokage to speak of it when he deemed them ready to know, once they entered the academy. He would stress the importance of keeping it a secret beforehand, and would train them so that they would have the maturity to not boast about their parentage to anyone for their own safety.

Little did he know, both children were already aware of Naruto's heritage at least as well as that he was Akemi's actual father. Naruto's 'tenant' told him about it and Naruto shared the information with Akemi. The two never mentioned it to anyone because they wanted their own secrets. It was also the reason the two never really cared about how mean the villagers were to them. Akemi's dad made sure they had decent clothes when the villagers tried giving them horrible clothing, taught them how to tell if food was bad and such, and also would ensure that they received good quality weapons when they started training. He shook his mind's wandering as they arrived in the apartment that he'd gotten for them.

"Now. Shall we eat first? Or do you want to start learning some taijutsu kata's first?" He asked the two, having been honest about the decision to start them training. He could teach them not only the basic form that academy students learn, but also the Uchiha style and a few other styles that he was able to copy with the Sharingan. The children's eyes lit up.

"Training, training!" Both exclaimed in such harmony that if he didn't know better he would have said that they were actually twins. He chuckled at their excitement.

"Okay then, let's start the training." He led the two onto the balcony which was the reason he chose this apartment. It was made especially strong to withstand use as a kind of dojo on which to train two likely-to-be-powerful children. He set Akemi down, having carried her the whole way there, and let Naruto's hand go. The children took their cue and stood in front of him. "Now, first we should change into more suitable clothing, but I think that is fine for the first lesson. We will start with the basic katas you will be learning in the Academy, then move on to the Uchiha style as I am most familiar with that one. By then I should have a good idea of what style would better suit you and teach you that style from the styles I know. From there you will be able to create your own style.

"Once we've covered the basic katas, I shall begin chakra control lessons as well. This will be important for both of you, because I can tell already that you both inherited large reserves from your parents." He cut the lecture short since it seemed like Naruto's mind was wandering. His personality was much like Kushina's at times. She also hadn't really liked to listen to long-winded speeches or lectures. Izuna coughed into his hand and told them to stand back and a decent distance from himself and each other. Then he went into the first stance of the basic kata and told them to follow along after him. When they were in similar stances, he moved to the next stance. This pattern continued as he introduced them to the basic taijutsu forms. After they ran through them all once, he had them go into the first stance again, though without him to show them.

He walked up to them and corrected their posture when needed as he had them go through the stances again. He kept them at it for about an hour before declaring them done for the evening and had them both go shower and change while he made supper for them. Naruto showed his father and 'mother's quick learning skill and Akemi was only a little behind. Both had the makings of genius though and he felt proud of them. After supper he could begin with small chakra exercises. And perhaps he could introduce strategy games into their training as well. He knew that the Nara boy, who would be in their class at the Academy, was already learning Shogi from his dad.

For supper he made them his super special, healthy ramen that both children adored. Naruto had somehow inherited Kushina's love of the stuff, and Minato had had some cravings for the dish while with Naruto so it wasn't all surprising the kid had a love for it. Akemi, though, preferred Dango or takoyaki to Ramen, but could still consume greater amounts of ramen than most children her age could eat in candy. When it was ready, the two ran back into the room having just finished changing. Akemi's red hair was still wet, and she kept it wrapped in a towel so it wouldn't drip on her clothes. The outfit she changed into was one of the more girly clothes she owned.

A/N: Going to end it here, this is nearly 2k words as it is. I'm so glad that people like this story! And I'm a little evil for doing this time skip aren't i? I wanted to leave the events of that night as a bit of a mystery that will be explained later on. It will likely happen in the next two chapters actually… o.o Naruto will make contact with his 'mommy' XD I will get to work on that chapter soon! (and continue working on the next chapter of my ItaNaru story too…. For those that read it)


	3. Chapter 3: Training Begins

Chapter 3

After supper was finished, the family of three moved into the living room area. Cushions had been set out in the middle of the room, furniture shifted to the edges, while the kids were changing before supper. He gestured for the two to sit in the cushions side-by-side and sat down in the one that was before the other two. They were settled into a meditative sitting position when Izuna pulled out the items that the two would use for chakra control. They were leaf-shaped fabric, made to closely match a real leaf.

He could have just as easily found two leaves for them to use, but this was a bit better in his opinion. The two looked at him expectantly, faces in identical looks of curiosity when they saw the 'leaves'. Izuna chuckled and began the explanation of their chakra control exercise.

"I want you two to attempt to stick these 'leaves' to your foreheads. That is the first exercise in chakra control. Later you will be learning the more advanced tree walking and water walking after that." Though generally tree-walking was for when you reached Genin rank. Water walking was done later, like when you were going to be in the chunin exams. He had a feeling though that the two would learn at least as far as tree-walking by the time they were second-year academy students. The children nodded with matching serious expression and it was all he could do to not burst out laughing at them. Who knew, they might even get to water-walking by the time they graduated the academy.

"Then lets begin." He handed each a 'leaf' and sat back. Izuna pulled out another and place it on his forehead. As with the kata's, he would demonstrate for them once. Pulling his hand away, the 'leaf' remained on his forehead, to the awe of the children. "Try molding your chakra like I explained earlier." He instructed. Naruto and Akemi nodded and concentrated on the pool of chakra they were both aware of within themselves. They pictured the physical and spiritual energies merging like they had been told and placed the leaves to their foreheads. Concentrating hard, they willed their chakra to cling to the leaf so it wouldn't fall and tried pulling their hands away.

Akemi's leaf stuck for a couple seconds, but Naruto's sort of jumped away from his skin and fell right away. Naruto pouted when he couldn't get it to stick right away and hastily picked up the leaf to place it on his forehead again. This time he tried not to use so much chakra, somehow figuring out that the more chakra he put into it, the less likely that the leaf would stick. This time the leaf stuck for longer than Akemi's first attempt and the loss of concentration caused the leaf to fall again. Akemi had watched Naruto and pouted as she tried again. This attempt also lasted longer than previous but still the leaf fell from her forehead less than a minute later.

Naruto and Akemi kept at the training for a good hour, with minimal improvements each time, before their control disappeared as they grew tired. It was then that Izuna called it a night, saying that they had made impressive progress and that they could try again in the morning. Despite their protests, both children were aware that they were too tired to concentrate like they would need to for the exercise to be possible and soon they were carried off to bed by their favorite adult in the whole village. He read them a story, 'Tales of a Gutsy Ninja' since it was their favorite and it was Minato's copy. Naruto loved it because the main character had the same name as himself, and the ideals of the main character were ideals that he absolutely adored and desired to emulate when he was a ninja. Akemi liked it for the ideals as well, but also because of the battles.

They fell asleep in Naruto's bed, though Akemi had her own bed, and Izuna smiled and let them be. He knew that he would be the kind of father that threatened any boy that showed an interest in his little girl, but Naruto was just as precious to him and only saw Akemi as a sister so he would allow them to sleep in the same bed whenever they wanted to. He also was aware of the likelihood that Naruto would take after Minato in preferences when he was old enough for such things. Izuna closed the book and placed it on the bedside table which sat in between the two beds and placed a kiss to Akemi and Naruto's foreheads. With a soft 'Oyasumi,' Izuna left the room and returned to the living room. He put the cushions away and pulled the furniture back into its original positions.

He pulled out some books, sat down in a cushy chair, and began reading the books on how to train young shinobi, Sharingan active to help absorb the information sooner. He was unaware of what was happening with the younger of the two children. Naruto had fallen asleep and as soon as he was, he found himself in a sewer of sorts. There was an odd, orange-yellow glow which made it easy to see even the finer details of the corridor in which he found himself. Young Naruto looked around, wondering where he could possibly be, when he heard rumbling snarls that sounded familiar. He followed them to their source and saw a huge gate with a paper that read 'seal' about half-way up the monstrous gate.

Behind it lay a large fox. It was the tenant that had informed him of his parentage, the Kyuubi no Kitsune. It looked to be deeply asleep, so he was not the reason for Naruto being here.

"Man…. And I was hoping that the Kyuubi-san would share something else with me. But if it wasn't him then who? Naruto wondered out loud, not noticing the figure that was appearing behind him.

"My you've grown…" He heard behind him. Naruto whipped around and got into a stance like the one that Izuna-jii-chan taught him just that day to see a tall, slender male with hair the same bright yellow as his own and amused-looking blue eyes that were only a few shades off from matching Naruto's own. The child relaxed his stance in shock as a man that could only be one person stood just a few short feet in front of him. The blond man smiled and opened his mouth to talk when he found himself with an armful of excited blond whirlind.

"Papa!" The blond exclaimed, voice muffled by the clothing Minato was wearing. It was his famous coat with the kanji for 'Fourth Hokage' on the back with flames at the bottom and the flack jacket over deep blue shinobi garb that he had worn in the battle against the Kyuubi the day of Naruto's birth. Minato was surprised for a second that his son had known before he cast a glance at the feigning-sleep Kyuubi before a gentle smile stole over his features. 'figures that the furball would blab…' Minato thought to himself in amusement. He gently patted Naruto's head, aware of the trembling child crying as silently as he could. When Naruto had calmed down some and was merely clinging to him, Minato felt it safe to push him away slightly to get a good look at his little boy.

Naruto looked so much like Arashi, only with Minato's own coloring such as blond hair and blue eyes. Minato smiled sadly when he realized that Naruto had indeed inherited his family's unique genetic 'bloodline' and could only hope that things would be better for him than they were for Minato. He hugged Naruto again after the inspection of his child's features. He quite pointedly ignored the soft scoffing sound he heard from behind Naruto from the Kyuubi and hugged his son to make up for the years he had missed. Briefly he sent a sad thank you to Arashi for what he had done to allow him to reunite with their child, but also cursed the man for it because it meant Naruto was effectively an orphan.

When they pulled away again, Naruto beamed happily at Minato and Minato returned it. It was obvious that they were related, for their grins were exactly the same. Still holding onto Naruto as though he would vanish should Minato release his hold on him, the two 'moved' to another area to converse away from their audience of the Kyuubi. The 'room' they were now in was much like the Hokage office, with a kind of seal all around the room. It was where Minato had been sealed. At first he'd had to heal and recover from his injuries and chakra exhaustion, then he'd been able to continue training here, though it wouldn't be as effective as actually training since he was currently not much more than a 'spirit' while within Naruto's mind as he was.

He set himself down at the couch, ignoring the Hokage desk, and positioned Naruto on his lap. One hand carded through Naruto's hair as he prepared what he wanted to say to his baby boy. Naruto for his part remained silent, eyes remaining focused on his 'mommy's face and not even taking in the new room's appearance.

"First of all… I should tell you how sorry I am that I can't be there to raise you and that it falls to Izuna-kun instead. Next you should know that your Daddy and I loved you so much before you were even born and that we would both be proud of you no matter what kind of person you would become. Third…" Minato paused and his expression shifted into one of anger and sorrow and regret. "I'm so sorry how they treat you baby.. If I could I would beat them all within an inch of their lives!" Minato had seen what the village put Naruto and Akemi through, and the Kyuubi didn't hold back in his disgust at the 'stupid humans being so blind' nor in what he wanted to do to them every time they tried to hurt the children for being 'demons taunting the village with their looks'.

While Naruto was almost a carbon copy of Minato, Akemi was so much like Kushina in appearance and personality that the adults that had known both only saw the two 'dead' adults. No one knew that Minato wasn't actually really dead. Kushina was though. She hadn't survived the sealing as she had been greatly weakened even before then what with childbirth and having the bijuu extracted from her shortly after giving birth. Minato would have died as well, were it not for Arashi stepping in and using his own kind of seals to seal not only Kyuubi in Naruto, but Minato as well. He didn't even know Arashi had invented that kind of seal, nor for what reason the man would even need such a seal, but he was grateful for it all the same, since he could be here now and see their baby boy as he grew up, rather than the way it would have been had Minato performed the shiki fuuin like he had planned on.

He still cursed the man for some parts of the seal, such as the whole 'taking the worst of the damage and sacrificing his life to protect Naruto and Minato and Kushina'. Naruto was grinning happily as Minato's fingers combed out his messy spiky blond hair and the words Minato was saying about how he and his daddy loved him and were always going to be proud of him, though he looked up at the apologies.

"It's fine, Papa…. I don't mind them, since I know that you loved me and would always love me even if I never got to know you. And 'sides, I have Akemi-nee and Izuna-jii… I'm not alone, so the villagers can say what they want because I have precious people that love me." Minato was amazed at how mature and eloquent Naruto was, for a five year old, but soon he smiled as he figured that it was in part thanks to Izuna raising them like Uchiha's and Naruto being Arashi's son. Arashi was very eloquent when he wanted to be. Then Minato noticed the small 'ttebayo' that Naruto had said and chuckled. It seemed he also inherited the Uzumaki's unique speech pattern. Kushina used 'ttebane' while Arashi used 'ttesane', which was only slightly less unusual than Kushina or Naruto's, but still not overly common.

Minato then said Naruto could ask anything he wanted and Minato would answer. So they spent their time doing a Q&A thing until Minato sensed the time outside.

"Okay baby, I'm sorry but I think we'll end here for the night. You need some actual sleep before morning. We can talk again tomorrow night, okay?" Minato assured Naruto when the boy looked ready to protest saying goodbye. He pouted cutely but nodded when he got the promise to talk more later. The room faded out of view as he fell into proper sleep.

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I could end it here… but I think you all deserve a longer chapter for the wait.

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Next morning, Naruto was awake before anyone else. It was odd since usually Izuna needed to wake the two children up and Akemi was easier to wake than Naruto. Today however, the blond child was too excited to sleep past the rising of the sun outside their bedroom window. He got up carefully, not disturbing Akemi in the least, and dressed himself in a dark blue pair of sweatpants and a black t-shirt that had been decorated on the front by the Uzumaki clan's symbol and the back had a much smaller, hardly noticeable, Namikaze clan symbol near the bottom at the center. It was his favorite pattern, now that he knew what it was.

Minato had had the same symbol hanging from his necklace that was one of the few symbols of his office that he wore with pride (having added his clan symbol to it secretly). It was one of the things he had explained to Naruto when Naruto asked about it. Naruto had been ecstatic to learn that he was a member of not one but two clans that had at one point been quite famous. Minato explained that there were few survivors of the Uzumaki left, that Arashi and Kushina had been from the main branch of the family and were effectively the heads of the Uzumaki clan, which would now fall to Naruto should he try rebuilding the Uzumaki clan and locating surviving members.

Minato's family, however, were quite alive, though only distant relatives that were for the majority civilians and not shinobi. He didn't know of any members nearby, so it ruled out the chance of having relatives from that side of the family within Fire Country. Naruto had been disappointed, but perked up at the thought of locating the Uzumaki clan survivors. One thing to look for was the vivid red hair that Uzumaki members were known for. Akemi's hair was a typical color for the clan members, and when Naruto asked why his hair was blond then, Minato merely explained that it was from the Namikaze clan and that he would explain more at a later time. Naruto had pouted at the obvious evasion of that question but was soon distracted as another question popped up and he got an embarrassed explanation of how Minato and Arashi had gotten together.

Naruto giggled as he remembered his dad telling him that he'd always been attracted to the older Uzumaki and how it went from a crush to full on head-over-heels love and how they got together finally, after Minato made Chunin and the first major victory of his in the war with Iwa and Kumo. Naruto left his and Akemi's room and headed into the living room. The leaves they used from last night were sitting on the table in the center of the room and Naruto picked one up before taking a seat on the couch. Minato had given him a few hints on his chakra control and the child could hardly wait to see if they would help him at all. He concentrated on his chakra molding together and then picture the leaf sticking to his forehead to tell his chakra what he wanted to do as he pressed the leaf against his forehead.

When he pulled his hand away, he focused on the image of the leaf sticking and felt that it was working, for the leaf was sticking. Keeping his mind on the image, Naruto grinned when he counted up to sixty seconds with the leaf remaining on his forehead firmly. Sound from Izuna's room drew his attention away from the leaf and it fluttered onto his lap. Naruto pouted a second before grinning at his success. He sent a mental thank you to his dad and jumped up from the couch to run towards the approaching Izuna. Izuna, for his part, was surprised to find Naruto jumping at him with a pleased grin on his face as he caught the little trouble-maker.

"Ara, is the world ending? Naruto awake so early and without being encouraged by the smell of food?" He teased, getting an irritated 'hey!' from said blond child. Naruto pouted a second for good measure before he cheered up and told Izuna what he had accomplished.

"I got the leaf to stick for a whole minute longer than before!" He happily declared to the only parent he'd ever really known. Izuna was honestly surprised at that declaration, though was prevented from replying by a sleepy Akemi asking where Naruto was. The question was answered soon enough as the sleepy girl opened her eyes and saw Naruto there with Izuna. The little girl was more than a little surprised.

"Morning Daddy, Naru-chan" The girl beamed a still slightly sleepy smile at the two as Naruto was set down again.


End file.
